Article roll over device

ABSTRACT

A coil of metal or paper strip to be upended or downended is placed on one bed of a cradle which is constructed of semicircular vertical parallel plates and which is mounted in rolling engagement on a track beneath the cradle. The cradle is then rolled along the track one-quarter turn or 90* by a drive system to axially reorient and laterally transfer the coil. As the cradle reaches its end point, the upended or downended coil then rests on a second bed of the cradle perpendicular to the initial bed. A loading conveyor chain extends into the bed which initially receives the coil to carry the coil to the bed and an unloading conveyor chain extends from the bed onto which the coil is transferred for carrying the coil from the bed.

United States Patent [191 Ouska I m 3,763,990 [451 Oct. 9, 1973 ARTICLE ROLL-OVER DEVICE [76] Inventor: Ralph C. Ouska, 218 E. The Lane,

Hinsdale, Ill.

22 Filed: May 12, 197.2

21 Appl.No.:252,730

Related 0.8. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 122,713,March 10, 1971. a

[52] US. Cl. 198/33 AD, 214/1 OF [56] References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1960 Staples, Jr 198/33 AD 3/1957 Hill 214/130 C X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 4/1964 France 198/33 AD Primary Examinr-Dtayton E. Hoffman Assistant Examiner-Frank E. Werner Attorney-Francis W. Anderson et a1.

[ ABSTRACT A coil of metal or paper strip to be upended or downended is placed on one bed of a cradle which is constructed of semicircular vertical parallel plates and which is mounted in rolling engagement on a track beneath the cradle. The cradle is then rolled along the track one-quarter turn or 90 by a drive system to axi ally reorient and laterally transfer the coil. As the cradle reaches its end point, the upended or downended coil then rests on a second bed of the cradle perpendicular to the initial bed. A loading conveyor chain extends into the bed which initially receives the coil to carry the coil to the bed and an unloading'conveyor chain extends from the bed onto which the coil is transferred for carrying the coil from the bed.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures l ARTICLE ROLL-OVER DEVICE This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 122,713, filed Mar. 10, 1971.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to article handling apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for transferring coils of material from one operation to another.

Rolling mills, warehouses and manufacturing plants handle large and heavy coils of material, such as steel or other metal strip, or paper, by crane, truck or conveyor. These coils may weigh-60,000 pounds or more. Sometimes the coils are carried on end and sometimes on their sides, and frequently the coil has to be turned over either from end to side or from side to end.

To avoid damaging the coiled material, special means for accomplishing this change of position have been employed. .One of the most common types of devices used for repositioning a coil or similar object has a pair of beds mounted on a member that rotates on an axis which is fixed in space, at least during rotation, such as shown in the patent to Huffington U.S. Pat. No. 2,880,889. The coil, which is received on one bed in a particular orientation, is upended in place, transferred to the other bed and brought to rest in a different orientation. Sometimes, the coil receiving member can move laterally before or after reorientation of the coil as shown, for example, in the patent to Matteson et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,567,819 and, to a limited extent, in the patent to Kratzenberg U.S. Pat. No. 2.599,846. The devices which move laterally only before or after coil reorientation require move complicated drive mechanism to impart distinct translational and rotary movement to the coil while the devices which impart only rotary movement to the coil sacrifice the ability to move the coil laterally. In some of these devices, the need for raising the coil over a pivot center requires that the machines be very large and heavy and have drive systems capable of developing very large torque and horsepower.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved device for upending or ,downending coils of strip steel and other coiled materials or possibly blocks of material in which there is lateral shifting of the material as well as rotation thereof. The apparatus of this invention includes a cradle constructed of semicircular roll segments or arcuate segments mounted in rolling engagement on a track which in turn is supported by some form of supporting structure. The cradle is rolled along the track by a drive system, which may, for example, use pivotally interconnected levers in combination with a hydraulic cylinder. As the piston of the cylinder is extended the levers are pivoted and consequentially roll the cradle along the track from one position to the other. To return the cradle to its initial position the piston is withdrawn and the cradle is rolled to the starting position.

In operation, a coil of material is placed on an initially horizontal bed or support surface of the cradle, the cradle is rolled through one-quarter turn or 90 along the track and the upended or downended coil, now resting on the bed or support surface perpendicular to the initially horizontal bed and in a different lateral position, is removed as hereinafter described. The

empty cardle is then rolled back to its starting position ready to load another coil.

Each side of the cradle defines a bed to support an article in one of the extreme positions of the cradle. Each bed has openings to receive a conveyor chain therein. One of the conveyor chains carries an article on to the bed into which it is received. As the cradle rolls along the track to turn the article the article is transferred onto the other conveyor chain which takes the article from the cradle.

It is therefore one of the objects of this invention to provide coil handling apparatus adapted to receive varying diameter coils with their axes extending in either vertical or horizontal direction, rotate the coils, and transfer them so that their axes will be perpendicular to the initial direction of the axes.

It is another object of this invention to minimize or completely eliminate lifting of the center of gravity of the coil while still retaining a desired translation and thus greatly reduce torque and power reuirements.

Another object of the present invention is to turn an article 90 degrees in a cradle while the cradle rolls along a track to move the article from one conveyor to another.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective of the coil roll-over device of the present invention with parts omitted for clarity.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the coil rol1-over device of FIG. I in the opposite extreme position of FIG. 1 and showing the drive mechanism therefor.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The supporting structure 14 for the cradle consists of a foundation 46, two spaced elongate track supports 48 and 49 secured to the foundation, and two cradle tracks 50 (only one being shown) which are secured to the supports 48 and 49 respectively and provide generally straight metal horizontal surfaces on which the cradle can roll. At each end of each, track supports are mounted stop blocks 52, 53, 54 and another, not shown. The stop blocks are formed structurally of steel with an upper surface of shock cushioning material to act as an abutment for'the cradle in the loading position (FIG. 1) and in the unloading position '(FIG. 2 I

. In the enlarged sectional view FIG. 3, it will be noted that each cradle track 50 has two upwardly projecting portions 50a and 50b that define rails to receive depending track sections 51 and 52 of the cradle side frames 18a and 18b. A guide bar 56, which extends longitudinally along the track 50 is secured in a slot 57 in the track by capscrews 58 and is straddled by the frame members and 18b to prevent shifting or sidewise creeping of the cradle off the track.

The cradle 140 has semi-circular roll segment side frames 18a and 18b mounted rigidly in vertical parallel spaced relationship on a shaft I42. The cradle 140, which has two mutually perpendicular beds and is of semi-circular conformation, is in rolling engagement with the two parallel tracks 50 (only one of which is shown). The bed, or support surface, 146 of the cradle 140 has slots 139 (FIG. 1) to receive spaced conveyor chains 148 when the bed is in a horizontal position. The bed 147 has a central gap 138 to receive the conveyor chain 149 when the bed 147 is in the horizontal position. The chain 148 is utilized to load a coil onto bed 146 for roll-over and lateral shifting; the chain 149 is utilized to unload a coil from bed 147 after roll-over and lateral shifting.

The drive system utilized is a hydraulic cylinder and lever drive as illustrated in. FIG. 2. In FIG. 2 the drive system astshown includes a pivot shaft 188 connected to the cradle 140. The outer end of the pivot shaft 188 is journaled for rotation in the upper end of the cradle link 190. The cradle link 190 is connected for rotation at its lower end to drive lever 192. The drive lever is pivotally connected and journaled for rotation on the pivot shaft 193 which is connected to he track support 49. The lower end of the drive lever 192 is pivotally connected to the piston 196 of the double acting hydraulic cylinder 197. The'opposite end of the hydraulic cylinder 197 is connected for pivotal movement in the trunion 198 that is attached to a foundation. This drive system consisting of interconnected lever arms and a pivotally mounted hydraulic cylinder can be mounted on either side of the cradle or in the open center of the cradle between the tracks.

In operation, a metal or paper coil C is placed by conveyor 148 over the bed 146 (shown in the horizontal position in FIG. 1) with its axis A vertical and with the cylindrical surface against the V-top bed 147.

The bed 146, when in the horizontal position, (FIG. 1) is spaced below the center CR of the circular are defined by surface 51a of the arcuate segments of the eradle a distance D equal to the distance from the bottom of the coil to the center of gravity G of the coil (a distance equal generally to about one-half the height H of the coil). Similarly, the bed 147, when in the horizontal position, is spaced below the center CR of the arc of the arcuate segments of the cradle a distance S equal to or greater than the distance from the side of the coil to the center of gravity of the coil. With this construction the center of gravity G of the coil C when upright will initially lie at the center CR of the circular arc of the arcuate segments. Thus as the cradle is rolled, the center of gravity of the coil will not have to be raised, but will be moved laterally as the cradle rolls.

When the cradle is in the final position (FIG. 2), the center of gravity of the coil is at (as shown) or below the center of the circular arc of the arcuate segments. If the coil should have a diameter closely approximating the height of the coil as shown, the center of gravity of the coil will remain at or near the moving center CR as the cradle rolls. As the cradle rolls the centervof gravity G of the coil C coincides with the line L along which the ce'nterCR of the circular arc of the arcuate segments moves throughout the entire downending operation.

What is claimed is:

1. An article transfer device comprising in combination, a track, a cradle having an arcuate support edge for rolling movement between two extreme positions on the track, said cradle having two adjacent angularly spaced beds formed integrally with said cradle to support an article, each of said beds having at least one opening therein, a first conveyor to deliver the article up to said cradle, said first conveyor extending within the opening in a first one of said two beds to deliver the article directly on to said first bed when said first bed is in a position to receive the article and said cradle is at one of its two extreme positions, a second conveyor to remove the article from said cradle, said second conveyor extending within the opening in the second bed when said second bed is in a position to deliver the article to said second conveyor and said cradle is at the other one of its two extreme positions, and a drive mechanism to roll said cradle on said track so as to carry the article along said track from said first conveyor to said second conveyor.

2. The article transfer device of claim 1 in which one of said beds is in a substantially horizontal position at one of said extreme positions and the other of said beds is in a substantially horizontal position in the other of said extreme positions.

3. An article roll-over and transfer device comprising in combination, a horizontal track, a cradle having a semi-circular support edge to roll on said track between two extreme angular positions ninety degrees apart, said cradle having two mutually perpendicular beds to support an article, each of said beds having an opening therein, a loading conveyor extending into the opening in a first one of said beds to load the article di rectly on the said first bed when the cradle is in one of said extreme positions and said first bed is substantially horizontal, an unloading conveyor extending into the opening in the second one of said beds when the cradle is in the other of said extreme positions and when the second bed is substantially horizontal to unload the article from said second bed on to said unloading con vyeor, and a drive mechanism to roll said cradle along said track simultaneously rolling over the article ninety degrees and transferring the article from said loading conveyor to said unloading conveyor.

4. The device of claim 3 in which the center of the arc of the semi-circular edge lies substantially above the beds whereby the center of gravity of an article being rolled over does not have to be elevated significantly as the cradle is rolled through ninety degrees to roll over the article.

5. The article roll-over and transfer device of claim 3 wherein said drive mechanism comprises a hydraulic power cylinder having a piston and a piston rod, said power cylinder being pivotally connected to a fixed support, a bell crank lever pivotally attached to a fixed support and having one end connected to the piston rod of said power cylinder, and a cradle link connecting the other end of said bell crank lever and said cradle to convert the linear motion of the piston of said power cylinder to rolling motion of said cradle through a ninety degree are of travel as said cradle rolls on said track. 

1. An article transfer device comprising in combination, a track, a cradle having an arcuate support edge for rolling movement between two extreme positions on the track, said cradle having two adjacent angularly spaced beds formed integrally with said cradle to support an article, each of said beds having at least one opening therein, a first conveyor to deliver the article up to said cradle, said first conveyor extending within the opening in a first one of said two beds to deliver the article directly on to said first bed when said first bed is in a position to receive the article and said cradle is at one of its two extreme positions, a second conveyor to remove the article from said cradle, said second conveyor extending within the opening in the second bed when said second bed is in a position to deliver the article to said second conveyor and said cradle is at the other one of its two extreme positions, and a drive mechanism to roll said cradle on said track so as to carry the article along said track from said first conveyor to said second conveyor.
 2. The article transfer device of claim 1 in which one of said beds is in a substantially horizontal position at one of said extreme positions and the other of said beds is in a substantially horizontal position in the other of said extreme positions.
 3. An article roll-over and transfer device comprising in combination, a horizontal track, a cradle having a semi-circular support edge to roll on said track between two extreme angular positions ninety degrees apart, said cradle having two mutually perpendicular beds to support an article, each of said beds having an opening therein, a loading conveyor extending into the opening in a first one of said beds to load the article directly on the said first bed when the cradle is in one of said extreme positions and said first bed is substantially horizontal, an unloading conveyor extending into the opening in the second one of said beds when the cradle is in the other of said extreme positions and when the second bed is substantially horizontal to unload the article from said second bed on to said unloading convyeor, and a drive mechanism to roll said cradle along said track simultaneously rolling over the article ninety degrees and transferring the article from said loading conveyor to said unloading conveyor.
 4. The device of claim 3 in which the center of the arc of the semi-circular edge lies substantially above the beds whereby the center of gravity of an article being rolled over does not have to be elevated significantly as the cradle is rolled through ninety degrees to roll over the article.
 5. The article roll-over and transfer device of claim 3 wherein said drive mechanism comprises a hydraulic power cylinder having a piston and a piston rod, said power cylinder being pivotally connected to a fixed support, a bell crank lever pivotally attached to a fixed support and having one end connected to the piston rod of said power cylinder, and a cradle link connecting the other end of said bell crank lever and said cradle to convert the linear motion of the piston of said power cylinder to rolling motion of said cradle through a ninety degree arc of travel as said cradle rolls on said track. 